Amnesty InternationalDECEMBER 1975 Vol V No 12 newsletter

Al REPORT DETAILS LEGAL AND PENAL ABUSES DIRECTED

AGAINST POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS PRISONERS IN USSR

Conditions in Soviet penal institutions "not only violate international

standards for the treatment of prisoners, but fail to achieve the

standards established in parts of domestic corrective labour legislation

and theory," according to a 154-page AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

report published on 17 November.The illustrated report, Prisoners of incarceration. either on account of

Conscience in the USSR: Their political considerations or through

Treatment and Conditions, shows the errors and prejudices of

how many of the legal and penal psychiatrists and courts.

abuses are directed particularly Al recommends a careful reform

against political and religious of the Soviet criminal and criminal

dissenters in the Soviet Union. procedural law with an aim of

"There has never in Amnesty building in safeguards for the rights

International's experience been an of genuinely or purportedly mentally

acquittal of a political defendant in ill persons.

the USSR," the report says. Noting The report takes issue with official

the absence of official Soviet claims that the Soviet penal law and

statistics on the subject, the report theory have resolved the central

estimates that there arc now at least dilemmdfacing any penal system the

10,000 political and religious relationship between punishing

prisoners in the USSR. prisoners and reforming them.

The report, one of the most According to Soviet law. the

detailed Al has ever produced on corrective labour system aims at the

violations of human rights in a single "correction and re-education- of

country, was published prisoners rather than at "the infliction

simultaneously in English, Dutch and

German. French and Swedishtranslations will appear in the nearfuture.

Starting with profiles of fivetypical Soviet prisoners ofconscience, the report analyies theconditions under which prisoners are

held in corrective labour institutions(as prisons and colonies are called)and psychiatric hospitals.

In a series of recommendations atthe end of the report„4/ urges Soviet

authorities to undertake a program of

penal reform, starting with a publicdiscussion of the present system. Aslong as the day-to-day working of theSoviet penal system is treated as a

state secret, the report says, it "willcontinue to generate suspicion andmistrust, certainly abroad and tosome extent with the Soviet Unionitself".

Al directs the brunt of itscriticism at Soviet legal normsregarding the detention of personscharged with criminal offences andsuspected of being mentally ill.According to the report, Soviet law is

wholly inadequate in this respect andlays the way open for wrongful

Corn' II tied on pay(' 2

NEW KING OF SPAINANNOUNCES 'PARDON'

King JUAN CARLOS I, the newruler of Spain, announced a "general

pardon" on 26 November forprisoners in certain categories. But as

this Newsletter went to press, therewas no confirmation of journalists'reports that some 50 death sentenceshad been commuted under the

pardon and some prison sentencesreduced.

On 21 November, the day afterthe death of the new King's long-ruling predecessor in power,Generalissimo FRANCISCOFRANCO, the Chairman of Al'sInternational Executive Committee,DIRK BORNER, urged the King in a

cable to mark his accession to thethrone with a general amnesty for allpolitical prisoners.

More than 4,000 persons arebelieved still detained for politicalreasons in Spain or are on hailpending trial. Of these, some 500have been detained in recent \Necks

among them a number of priests.lawyers, students and trade unionist,

-

THREE LEADING OPPONENTS OF SOUTH AFRICAN REGIME

SENT TO PRISON IN NEW WAVE OF POLITICAL TRIALS

South Africa's crackdown on blackand white opponents of the regime,

following the detention of more than

100 people under the Terrorism Act

since September 1974, continued inNovember with a wave of trials. Most

of the defendants have been taken upby Al as investigation cases:

[RIC MOLOB1, a member ol the Black

People's Convention (BPC), \\as sentenced

to 5 years imprisonment hy the Rand

Supreme Court on 24 November after

being found guilty on two charges under

the Suppression of Communism Act. Ili,

cousin, FRANK MOLOB1, who had been

detained V ithout charge since April, was

sentenced to 4 months' imprisonment on

17 November when he refused to testify

as a state witness.

RAYMOND SUTTNJR, senior lecturer

ill law at the University of Natal. was

sentenced to 71/2 years' imprisonment in

Durban on 13 November after pleading

guilty to two charges under the Suppression

of Communism Act. Two other persons

detained with him, LAWRENCE. KUNY

and JENNIFER ROXBURGH, testified

as \tate suitncsw,, and tu ere dischatt.ml.

BR1 YI 1 N BR1 YT1 NBA( H. a

dist inguished Afrikaans poet and panne

(Octobei A(ic\Iettc,), \\ as sentenec.d iii

the Pretoria Sumeine Court on 21,

November to 9 years' imprisonnftio Oh

charges of attempting to create ;in

underground organization m Smolt .At

cn behalf of the banned Ali Iran National

Congress. Mr Bre \ tenbach, ho iris

al rested on 10 August tollow mg los

secret return to the country two weeks

earlier 11.11111 L111110: \\ here lie 1111d lisid

Several YearS, had pleaded giolti to sonic

of the charges. He apologized in owl

lns conduct and asked the Collf1

e \ercise leniency towards hint.

MAI.VBE1.1.1 MO1 OKI NG. president

of the National Youth Otgani/ation, and

si others NAcnt on trial undet the

Terrorism Act on 24 November.

The trial ot nine members ol the BP(

and the South African Student

Organization (SASO), which began in

January, resumed on 24 November.

other SASO and BPC members,

131. RNARD BLOEIM and SADFCQUI

VARIAVA, are also due to stand trial

individually soon.

s

continued fmrti page I

ot suffering on them-. Yet, the report says.

the law itself legitimiies the provision of

prisoners with only the biologically-

necesSary minimum amounts of food, and

most prisoners are kept in constant

hunger.

The low quantity and poor ouality of

prisoners' food makes them vulnerable to

illness and injury, the report says. This

situation is often exacerbated by their

work conditions.

Prisoners compulsory labour is

theoretically supposed to be the basic

menas of reforming prisoners. In practice,

however. prisoners arc required to work a t

hard phy sical tasks in conditions which

are usually unpleasant and often unhealthy

or dangerous.

Thc report's chapter on political abuses

ot psy cloatr‘ notes that once a person is

suspected (it being mentally ill, he is not

only denied anv right to affect the legal

or medical decisions made in his case, but

he need not even be told of the latter

until the moment he is sent tor

cont inement in a psychiatric hospital.

In a number of cases examining

p•; .cli iatrists and courts have ruled Soviet

citiiens to be mentally ill on direct account

of their having expressed or acted upon

dissentMg political or religious beliefs.

01 ten when the friends and relatives of

such persons have argued against the

verdict of insanity they have been told

that -seeming normality- is not a decisive

criterion ot mental health.

MOS t political or religious dissidents

whom A/ knows to have been forcibly

confined to mental hospitals have had no

record of violent activity. Yet, at least

until recently, Soviet courts have usually

chosen the most severe course of treatment

tor such persons: confine to a special

psychiatric hospital.

The report is deeply ciritical of the

latter institutions, which it describes as

being more like prisons rather than

hospitals.

"In special psychiatric hospitals, where

patients are kept in almost total isolation

front society and where non-medical

criteria influence the appointment of

psychiatrists, the anonymity of

psychiatrists and the unchallengeable

character of their decisions invite medical

practices which are positively dangerous

for patients", the report says.

Prisoners of Conscience in the USSR:Their Treatment and Conditions.154 pages, illustrated. Published 17

November 1975 by Amnesty International

Publications, 53 Theobald's Road, London

WC1X 8SP, England. Price: 85 pence

(US $2.00). Editions in Dutch, German,

French and Swedish are or will soon be

available from A/ national sections in

the respective countries.

CONFUSION OVEREXECUTION REPORTIN IRAQA/ Secretary General MARTIN ENNALS

wrote to President AHMAD HASSAN AL

BAKR on 7 November asking for

clarification of conflicting reports about

the fate of LEON AARONSON, a 38-

year-old Dutch male nurse arrested last

March in the Kurdistan region of northern

Iraq.

On 3 November the Iraqi News Agency

said Mr Aaronson had been executed after

a military court convicted him of spying

for Israel and acting as an advisor to the

Kurdish leader, MUSTAPHA BARZAN1.

Iraq's ambassador in the Netherlands later

confirmed the sentence but denied it had

been carried out.

Mr Ennals asked President Al Bakr to

commute Mr Aaronson's sentence if he

was still in detention.

An amnesty was declared for all

Kurdish guerrilas, civilians and refugees

following the Iran-Iraq agreement in

March that ened the Kurdish rebellion.

Despite fears of a massacre and wides-

widespread arrests and some Kurdish

prisoners were reportedly executed just

before or immeidatley after the

agreement the only hard information

concerning the Kurdish situation came

in November when A/ received reports

that about 200 members of the Kurdish

Democratic Party had been arrested during

the past month after distributing leaflets.

The International Secretariat is seeking

further details about these arrests.

Mr Ennals' letter followed one he

wrote to Iraqi Foreign Minister

SAADOUN HAMM ADI on 28 October

seeking further detais about ABDUL

SATTAR NASIR, a 26-year-old writer

arrested in January this year after an

article critical of the Iraqi government

was published in Beirut, Lebanon.

Mr Ennals also expressed concern that

Abdul Sattar had been tortured badly

Publishing abroad is one way in which

Iraqi writers may circumvent the country's

rigorous censorship and restrictions on

freedom of expression. Abdul Sattar was

tried by a "publications" court. His case

has now been referred to the State Security

Court in connection with charges of

espionage an offence punishable by death.

APPEAL TO FREE USPRISONERS OF CONSCIENCEA/ asked President GERALD R. FORD

of the United States on 16 November to

free all American prisoners of conscience

and declare an unconditional amnesty

for US conscientious objectors who went

into exile rather than participate in

the Vietnam war.

The Al appeal followed.the

presentation by the country's United

Nations representative, DANIEL

PATRICK MOYNIHAN, on 12 November

of a draft resultion (which the US

subsequently withdrew) under which

the General Assembly would appeal to

all governments to free all political

prisoners.

"While advocating the right andnecessity of the United Nations toact to ensure respect for humanrights throughout the world-and inthis context we are heartened by thesubstance of the United Statesresolution -Amnesty Internationalalso calls upon each and everygovernment to consider the politicalprisoners under its own jurisdictionand to release them from confinement,"Secretary General MARTIN ENNALSsaid in his message to President Ford.A/ currently has six adopted prisoners

of conscience in the United States. The

number of US conscientious objectors to

the Vietnam war who are living in exile

is believed to number in the thousands.

RELEASES IN INDONESIA

Twelve Atadopted prisoners were

released from prison in Indonesia in

October. They were all detained in

January 1974 for alleged involvement in

the riots in Jakarta that took place during

the visit of the former Japanese Prime

Minister KAKNE1 TANAKA. Eleven of

the released detainees are students. The

other, ADNAN BUYUNG NASUTION is a

well-known civil rights lawyer.

Announcing their release, Attorney

General ALI SAID declared that there

was no longer any reason for them to be

detained. The amnesty, however, was not

extended to more than 20 other prisoners

arrested at the same time.

Only three of these have been tried.

receiving sentences ranging from 4 to 61/2

years. The evidence at their trials bore out

that they had not been guilty of personal

involvement in the January 1974 riots.

They were convicted for criticizing the

Indonesian government's social and

economic development policies.

TANZANIADECLARES AMNESTYPresident JULIUS K. NYERERE of

Tanzania announced a broad presidential

amnesty on 1 November, following his re-

election to a fourth term in office on

26 October.

The President pardoned 7,308 common

criminals and reduced the sentences of a

further 3,685. Political prisoners however

were excluded from the amnesty, as were

persons convicted of currency offences

and cattle stealing.

A/ has adopted a number of long-

term detainees held without trial in

Tanzania under the Preventive Detention

Act. A/ groups with prisoners in this

category have been asked to appeal to

President Nyerere to announce an

amnesty for political detainees on 9

December, Tanzanian independence day.

In Zanzibar (which became part of

the United Republic of Tanzania in April

1964), the High Court on 10-11 November

upheld the death sentences passed on 24

persons for alleged complicity in the

assassination of Sheikh ABEID KARUME,

President of Zanzibar, in April 1972 (June

1974 Newsletter). It commuted the

death sentences of 18 others to terms of

imprisonment.

The High Court, which also heard

appeals from persons sentenced to prison

terms in the same case, upheld two of the

original sentences, reduced four others

and acquitted five people (who

apparently have not yet been released).

Most of the appelants had been taken

up by A/ as investigation cases. Those

whose appeals failed may now take their

cases to the ruling Afro-Shirazi Party's

supreme:council and ultimately to the

current President of Zanzibar,

ABOUD JUMBE. A/ groups have been

asked to appeal to President Jumbe to

commute the death sentences.

PRISONER RELEASES AND CASESThe International Secretariat learned inOctober of the release of 97 Al-adoptedprisoners and took up 172 new cases.

3

PRISONERSOF THEMONTHCAMPAIGNParticipants in the Campaign arereminded that appeals must only besent to the officials named at the endof each case. In no circumstancesshould communications be sent tothe prisoner.

Mirnadel Rio, BoliviaMIRNA DEL RIO is a teacher and anactivist in the trade union movement.She heads the Rank and FileCommittee of the La Paz Teacher'sUnion, which is affiliated to theBolivian Confederation of Labour(COB), the sole umbrellaorganization grouping Bolivian tradeunions. She was detained with 29trade unionists on 12 July whileattending a clandestine meeting ofthe COB in the provincial town ofOruro. Twenty-five remain indetention, including the principalleaders of the mine, sanitation,construction, banking and factoryworkers, as well as student andteacher representatives.

These arrests relate directly todecree laws of November 1974 whichsuspended all political parties, tradeunions and professional associations,and severely curtailed freedom ofassembly by banning all meetingswith political or trade union content.

Minister of the Interior JUANPEREDA ASBUN accused the tradeunionists of "conspiring to provokesocial chaos and a general strike", ancMirna del Rio of being "an agitatoramong the teachers". None have bee-formally accused of specific crimes,permitted the services of lawyers orbeen the object of formal ordersof detention issued by judicialauthorities as required by Bolivianlaw. It is unlikely that any of theseprisoners will be granted a trial.

Mirna del Rio is held in thewomen's prison in La Paz as is ANAMAFIA PANDO MARIN, leader ofthe Bank Employees Union.Please send courteously wordedappeals for her release to: GeneralHugo Banzer Suarez, Presidente de laRepublica, Casa Presidencial, La Paz,Bolivia; and to: Coronel Juan PeredaAsbun, Ministro del Interior,Ministerio del Interior, La Paz,Bolivia.

Sardar MENGAL, PakistanSARDAR ATTAULLAH KHANMENGAL is one of the sardars(tribalchiefs) of Baluchistan, as well as aleader of the opposition NationalAwami Party (NAP) in the province.Though the government claims thatcriminal charges exist against him, hehas still not been brought to trialsince his arrest 21/2 years ago.

In 1972 the NAP came to powerin Baluchistan demanding greaterautonomy for Pakistan's fourprovinces. Mr Mengal became chiefminister of the NAP opposition-dominated provincial governmentwhich was dismissed by the federalgovernment in February 1973 ongrounds of inadequacy. The ensuingpolitical tension led to an increase inacts of violence in the province.

When they pressed their demandsby threats of non-violent civildisobedience actions in the summerof 1973, the NAP leadership wasarrested. Mr Mengal was arrested on16 August 1973 in the provincialcapital, Quetta.

Mr Mengal is a heart patient. InAugust 1975, he was transferred toJinnah Hospital, Karachi fortreatment, but recently he wasreturned to Karachi Central Jail,despite the fact that his state ofhealth is still causing concernPlease send politely worded appealsfor his release to: His ExcellencyZulfikar Ali Bhutto, Office of thePrime Minister, Islamabad, Pakistan.

Dr Djura DJUROVIG, YugoslaviaDr Djura DJUROVIC, aged 75, is aretired lawyer from Belgrade, andsuffers from a weak heart. He wassentenced in October 1974 to 5 years'strict imprisonment on charges ofhostile propaganda. Dr Djurovié wasaccused of having sent manuscripts ofanti-state nature to a fictitious emigréorganization in Paris which wasbelieved to have been created for thepurpose of this trial. The trial wastimed to counterbalance the negativepolitical impact of an earlier trial of32 Yugoslav communists accused ofhaving attempted to form a pro-Soviet communist party in Yugoslavia.

Dr Djurovié was the most seniorformer Cetnik living in the territoryof Yugoslavia. The Cetniks, whowere a rival guerilla organizationduring the last war, opposedMarshal Tito's communist-ledpartisans. For his wartime activitiesDr Djurovi6 had already served a 17-year sentence between 1945 and1962- -though there was no proofthat he had committed violence.

Professor FRITS RUTER,a lawyerfrom the Univeristy of Amsterdam,attended Dr Djurovié's trial as an Alobserver (November 1974 Newsletter)and reported as follows: hisconviction was a foregone conclusionfor political reasons: his defencelawyers were denied those legalrights guaranteed under Yugoslav law;the court had shown itself stronglyprejudiced against the accused andthe request of the defence for anadequate graphological analysis ofthe manuscripts allegedly written byDr Djurovie was denied.

In June this year the SupremeCourt of Serbia rejected Dr Djurovie'sappeal and confirmed his 5-yearsentence. According to Al's recentinformation Dr Djurovie's health isdeteriorating and, since his transfer tothe prison of Pozarevac, he is nowsharing his cell with a notoriouscriminal who is accused of stealingfrom him the special food that heneeds.Please send courteously-worded cardsappealing for his release to: HisExcellency President Josip Broz Tito.Bulevard Oktobarske Revolucije 70,Belgrade, Yugoslavia.

CHILE DISSOLVESPEACE COMMITTEEAl has expressed grave concern over thedissolution in Chile on 17 November ofthe Committee for Peace following awritten request by President AUGUSTOPINOCHET to the Roman CatholicCardinal Archbishop of Santiago, RAULSILVA HENRIQUEZ, asking him todisband it.

Since it was established after the coupin September 1973, the committee, aninter-denominational group of clergy andlaymen, has provided legal aid for politicalprisoners and financial and moral supportto their families and to the families ofothers who have died or "disappeared".

Al's concern, expressed in a cable toCardinal Henriquez, extended to thesafety of those people who have beenworking for the committee. Many priestsand laymen connected with it have beendetained during the past month, includingthe executive secretary of the committee,Father FERNANDO SALAS, anotherexecutive member, Father PATRICIOCARIOLA, and the head of the legaldepartment, JOSE ZALAQULTT.

The Second InterparliamentaryConference of the European Communityand Latin America, which was held inLuxembourg 19-21 November and whichwas attended by an Al delegation, also .expressed concern at the dissolution of thecommittee. A cable signed by 24participants from 13 countries—amongthem GEORGE SPENALE of France,President of the European Parliament, andL'IJIS AUGUSTO LEON of Argentina,President of the Latin America Parliament—urged General Pinochet to re-establishthe committee.

4

OBSERVER SAYS GERMAN TRIAL OF TURKS 'POLITICAL'\ S\\ i III \ CF \\ ho it H Ilded the openim:.

session of the trial of foul I wks inologne. I edeial Republic ot (IiI111.11 \

SepteIllhel tIll hi11.111 Ill 1/ said in illmcli)11mai \ repom dlli\ d ii Novembelthat the Ii iii is unniistakenb p,11,111,11iii

crt

!he loin. 0 \11 R 0/1 It I t 1'21 d F. II \S \It SI \I \ It 110a nd 11 1.,S1 I Gt RI l ,n; IFi F Feli llitli'pawl illation In III11111,11 01.,'.101/.11 1011-

1 11,' 1 trio \II 1 iht rition 1 rtmt (Ot ther, tit ,

1/ oltscr‘cr. \trill,: 1 11S \ 111

/11 (.1 1 R \It 1 11 R 115 liii In her

p,t[t HAI ph,x, little detention 01 the!,:ui tor 1,11 ,110 11.11I AI, I Mak 1071

itt I ii ic went ‘:11,e lune I9-s

\\ cerin iii standaRI\

Sh. said s.enl del en, \ cis ha\ c

I/ Se,I Ill C,enelal NIAR N I N.\ I S,a11c,1 R10 1: \Lin Prime \firustcr IANs; (H NI cr11111 r, I lie CmC ml Ike

1I 111111 \,(1-5,11 1. (a RIll/disla's 111111,11CM]

d.',1,11.111,(11 1 1)11 11111

H.:Mall:J(11! 111.: id c.i Sc ul all II,d11,11.11.1 rill .111 ..'11,1 I the IA,' 10 the

tItHtli tit ItAllt, FF1R11,1151,1

In A het', Fel, As,' oh the sArne do 1/spI.ssed :on., Hi at the Lipid !micas.' inIi numb, F pcopl: detained \\ ithout

F. al in Rholl,,L; \twin,: I 975. 1 he 111,11nom H Ip.dci,.11 detainees is Hill

1110Ie 111.111

Ho , 1 .He heF rFd 11,11,1

Iss,I,A1 1 \

111,11 1,(111(11 11112 lir,' 1 llsaka.

/a.(1!`[.. 1,1a1111,1: (‘‘',i1 \h `hthtlt Anti AB1 I

\It /ORI \ lI the \INI•,111 N.111-1011,11

( 0.1115 I I \ \( I. ,F \\ F hr the RII Ides1.111

ALL ADOPTEES INEGYPT FREED1/ 1,,:\ coed eonfiH11,111011 III October and

N.nembey that all .ldopted isoncrs inn

g\ p1 FIle Ceen released .ilthough not[lie prisoners Heed

\Ill be \ill hied into three groups:.111 152 lases among the large numbers

ol H udents. 11 orkers. lan \ ens and

Hui nalists arrested folio i 11111111,1 NCh\

ew's \ riots in Cairo 0\ er the high cost ot nm mg hO 10 \\ \\ ages (March ;Ind\ \ cn.\/crfe,\ I. Alt homIli 1 reed. , 0111,1

01 the 1 .71 ithp still he hrotiEllt

[IR' renuining 001 Ill sl Pors„os arrested in Novembe• 1974 ;old charged

torming lett Illng -skNret cell

(Januar\ ;Hid Ma \ .\ clusIeffer.\ I. Release 01the 1 Iher detainee \\ as confirmed earliciHos \ ear. All \\ ere released provisionall \ it

is not \ et knoll n \Ilk:111er Pien \\ ill hebrought to tual or acquitted.*Seventeen persons arrested in JIM,' 1 973and \ harged 11 ith forming or beingmembers of a communist organization(MaY .\.mes/cl/c0. Their trial bsaspostponed repeated! . and there is astrong possibility all \\ ill no \\..ucquitted.

.-1/ also received more information inNovember about the arrest in July of about10 Trotsky ites. Moq have been releasedprovisionally. Those still in detention inaybe considered for adoption.

been threatened \\ ith espulsion iruiin thecourt b \ the nudge v, hen they Ilasieinter\ \lied on behall ol their clients, 'Orepolltihal nature of the trial \\ as underscoredb the t.k. t that the prosecution introducedis evidenc, ineuature !mind m the

defendants' possession, including theii orks ot 1 el1111.

N(1111111 11111I llIii 111,1111berN 01 the

hakl,11 1 iberation Front had beenacquitted iii in earlier trial. Maitre Zieglei-Muller said that if the present trial decidesthe organization is criminal. -(his 11

1 sit traillin riiicii is legall absurd-Die Inn is espected .o last until mid-

I)eeember, and .1/ Is

hl he represented ;it the closing st.‘,SmIll,

Mea1110111e, one id the tour accused.NI I:SI I RI I., has been reliAsed

WM deltalt1011.

prime munstei .innounced his intention to- release the Alricall letiders from detentionarid restriction, zund their hillolvers as well-.only 90 political detainees had in factbeen !reed out 01 a total of more than.100 then held.

Latest reports suggest that up to 300supporters of the JOSHUA NKOMOLill ion of the ANC have recently beenreleased. However, :200 foilo \\ ers 01Bishop Muzorei\ a. Mr Nkomo", rival forthe ANC leadership. ;ire said to havebeen detained at the s:unie

1110 (.1/-adopt1'1-, CHARLTONNGCI 13 I I SHA ;ind VOTI MO1'0, :iredefinitely kno \\ n to have been releasedfrom Wha \Vila Prison in early. November.

MURDER THREATIN BRAZIL

Brazil's Supreme 1 ederal Tribunal hasordered the further detention of CI S.ARQUI IRO/ 13 1 NJ AMIN. a oung puihitreil

prisoner \ink/Ill OIle 01 111C etull'llry'snotommis

death squads had threatened to murder onhis scheduled release from prison on 10November. On 9 November .4/ cabledPresident ERNI STO GFISI I urging him tointer\ ene ;Ind protect the \ oung man's life.

esar Omen°, Bent:mum no \A t4t.cd 1 1, wasdetained in 1971 al the age of 1 7 because ofhis ;illeged 1110111.1e111 ietivitieS (IS a student. When seen h\ his parents40 day s:utter his arrest, the youth's body bore marksot torture.

In ;ill Ins subsequent trials, hou ever, liev‘as round not guilty of the charges levelledagainst him. In ;in ;uppedl hearing last year,the supreme military tribunal ruled thatbeeause he was only I 6;11 the time of theelems in connection \mull \Ouch he Illi

eharged,he AmiiS - not responsible-. [hisdecision WZIS confirmed it] April of this year.

The army. however, did not decree hisrelease until recently. /1/ learned that thejudge In charge of the ease. JulliFRANCISCO 1 IORTA. told CesarQueiroz Benjamin's family that an officialrom the secret service of the a rniy had

informed him that the young man \A ouldbe murdered by a para-police vigilantedeath squad as soon aS he left prison. Thejudge reportedly told the family that hecould not be responsible for Mr QueirozBenjamin's security .

EX-MINISTERS DIEIN BANGLADESH.1/ cabled President MOHAMMADSAYI M 01 Bangladesh on 7 Novembere \pressing concern at the killing of lourtormer ministers ot the overthro\vn regimeof Sheikh MCJIBUR RAIIMAN in DaciaCentral Jail earlier that Week.

Among the four were former PrimeMinister MANSUR All and TAJUDDINAIIMI D, who \Val: P111111e M1111Ster Of the

r_overnment iii e ile during the country'sliberation struggle.

.4/ appealed to the nov,President's goveriiment to take immediatesteps to guarantee the lull ,afety andprotection of all persons 110\1 Under

detention In connection with theirpolitical activities. It welcomed the 11e11regime's announcement that the tadincident On 3 November \1/4 ill beinvestigated and asked that the inquir \ be

full-scale, independent one.

NEWS IN BRIEFSomalia Frees 13 Teachers Thirteenschool leachers eolliprIS11V the largesteategor ot political prisoners in Somaliataken up by, A/ have been released undera presidential anmesiy, according toinformation received by adoption groupsfrom Somali authorities in November. TheI 3 were sentenced in April 1 974 to prison

ral111111.11 11101117 to 1 0 years for takingpart in a strike arising from their refusal to\A C111-army uniforms during their 1ndlifing al

11Ie Ilaldene School, Mogadishu. All suchstrikes ;Ile banned under the count].1 970 national seeurit,\ lams. Somalia hasrecent I\ released other political prisoners,including lormer Prime Minister1101IAMMI I) IBRAHIM I (lAL I Nt/s:ClInbe:'

ACIA'Nkflu'r/.

Former A / Adoptee Ileld Again inSwaziland 1)r A \I 13 IZOS1 LAVA Nloriner adoptee. \\ as detained ;it 111C

1)(..1111111111112 01 November in Swaziland,reportedlv under the country's 60-dav

detention without trial legislation. Drbvane. leader o1 the banned oppositionNgwane National I iberatory CongressParty of S\vaziland, has been detainedwithout trial Oil 1 \AO preVIMIS occasions

folio .p to Yemen Mission A1 sent aconfidential report, including a list ofrecommendations, tel the government olthe People's Democratic Republic ofYemen on 22 October and also sent areport ;Ind recommendations to the YemenArab Republic on I 2 November. Thereports are a 10110N-llp lo the Al mission\\ Inch visited the two countries in May-June this year (August .Vewsuetter).

IEC Meets in London Als International\ecutive ommittee met m London 3 1

October-2 November. Foremost On theagenda was the implementation ofdecisions taken by the InternationalCouncil in St (allen, Switzerland, in • September (October Newsletter). The ITCalso discussed Al's relations withgovernments in genral and surveyedspecif ic concerns in the inain geographicalareas of the world. In addition, severaldecisions were taken in preparation for thelaunching of Al's worldwide f undraisingcampaign in 1976.

1/ CALLS FOR RELEASE OF ALL POLITICAL DETAINEESIN RHODESIA TO MARK 10TH YEAR OF UDI

Amnesty International .Newsletter is pubhshed monthly by AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL KIM !CATIONS53 Theobald's Road. London WC I X 8Sp, England Printed by War on Want Press, 467 Caledonian Road, London N7 9BF, England

amnesty international

campaign for the abolition of tortureDecember 1975 Vol V -No. 12 MONTHLY BULLETIN

'A LAMENTABLE EPISODE'- PRESIDENT GEISELREPRESSION IN BRAZIL REACHES NEW CLIMAX WITH DEATH UNDER TORTUREThe steady deterioration of human rights in Brazil during 1975 has accelerated into a major political crisissince the death in custody in São Paulo on 25 October of the well-known journi.,list VLADIMIR HERZOG.

Mr Herzog, aged 38, died only hours after presenting himself voluntarily at the headquarters of theSecond Army. A statement issued two days later by the Second Army Command claimed Mr Herzoghanged himself after confessing to having been a member of the banned Brazilian Communist Party (PCB).Two days before Mr Herzog's death, Second Army Commander General EDUARDO D'AVILA MELLOhad called for all-out war againstthose he described as "red fascists"

Security police refused to allow Democratico Brasileiro(MDB), were NOGUEIRA MONTEIRO, a lawyer

Mr Herzog's family to open the sealed arrested in a large-scale crackdown kidnapped on a São Paulo street by

coffin which his body was returned that affected ever-widening circles security officers. According to the

so that Jewish pre-burial rites could of peaceful opponents of the regime. document, he was subjected over abe performed. (Mr Herzog was a Jew.) The arrests were mostly without period of several days to beatings.

This refusal was repeated at the warrant and without notification of near-drowning and electric shockscemetary despite his widow's proper judicial authorities. A number (mostly while suspended from thestrong insistence that the body was of people have also disappeared notorious pau de arara--"parrot's

prepared for burial in accordance without trace, supposedly victims of perch").with Jewish tradition. para-police vigilante groups. Having obtained all the

At an ecumenical memorial Further large-scale arrests in information they could, hisservice in which 15,000 people paid October and November brought the tormentors told the lawyer he wouldtheir last respects to Mr Herzog, the estimated number of persons detained be released because his detentionRoman Catholic Archbishop of São so far this year to over 1,500, of had become known. They added thiitPaulo, Cardinal PAULO EVARISTO which more than 1,000 have occurred they could have eliminated him andARNS, declared: "Those who stain in São Paulo alone. The total number warned him not to speak about histheir hands with blood are damned." actually in custody at this time is experiences. Before his release. MI

President ERNESTO GEISEL of difficult to estimate because some Monteiro received intensive treat me,itBrazil was quoted as saying he are released after a certain period of to heal his wounds and cover up theregarded Mr Herzog's death as a detention and torture- in some cases signs of torture."lamentable episode". to await trial. Earlier, in September, a 60-year-

The death sparked off massive old journalist, RENATO OLIVERIApublic protests. In São Paulo, 30,000 TORTURE ALLEGED MOTTA, wrote to a military judgeuniveristy students went on strike. Allegations of widespread and that he had been subjected toThousands of Roman Catholics fasted systematic torture have been six weeks of violent electric shocks,

for 24 hours on 14 November, numerous since the wave of arrests beatings, a rack-like torture and a

following a call from the São Paulo began. The apparent objectives are to crucifixion-like torment which his

archdiocese which strongly denounced obtain confessions that the victims, torturers called "the Jesus Christ":illegal arrests, torture and killings. support or belong to the PCB and to "Naked, on foot, my arms whereSpecial services were held in some incriminate others. Details of torture stretched out above and bound to500 churches throughout the diocese. continue to reach the outside world a crossbar. This was to disarticulate

Protests have continued from despite attempts to silence the the muscle network and the

journalists and lawyers, notably Brazilian news media. kidneys, they told me."

members of the Ordem dos Even the army itself has not been He said his interrogators told him

Advogados do Brasil(Brazilian Bar spared. In July and August more than they would torture Jesus Clirist

Association--0AB). Recent reports 60 members of the military police himself if He returned to earth.indicate that military officials have were detained for suspected links According to information Al has

started an inquiry into Mr Herzog's with the PCB. According to official received, the practice of torture is

death. statements, Colonel JOSE being further refined andThis year's intensified efforts by MAXIMINIANO de ANDRADE institutionalized. One report stated

the security forces to crush all NETO subsequently died from "heart that on arrival at DOI (military

"leftwing subversion" began with the failure" during interrogation and police) headquarters, the prisoner isdismantling of two clandestine PCB Lieutenant JOSE FERREIRA de examined by a doctor who checks hisprinting presses in January. Lawyers, ALMEIDA committed "suicide", or her health and then classifies thejournalists, professors, students, trade Early in November, the Brazilian prisoner for one of three categoriesunionists, doctors and officials and Bar Association sent a 14-page of torture. The third category is thesupporters of Brazil's only legal document to President Geisel "softest"--treatment beginning withopposition party, Movimento describing the experience of CELSO electric shocks of 110 volts.

MASS BRUTALITYIN CHILE PRISON RAIDIll-treatment and torture in Chile are not

restricted to the torture chambers of the

security police.

On the morning of 22 October 1975,

all prisoners in the Public Prison of

Valparaiso were removed from their cells

and made to lie on the ground. They were

kicked and beaten, and then made to run

in circles. Fach time around, they were

beaten with clubs.

In the meantime the cells were

thoroughly searched and prisoners'

personal belongings confiscated. One

prisoner w;p: reported to be in a very

critical state as a result of the treatment

received, his face having been badly cut

and Ins kidneys damaged.

For the purpose of this raid. which

was termed Operacidn Rastrillo (rake), the

gendarmeria guarding the prison were

replaced by marines.

An estimated 100 political prisoners

and several hundred common law prisoners

are held in Valparaiso Public Prison. Some

40 of the political prisoners arc currently

on trial in the so-called Naval Trials. on

charged with mutiny and rebellion, dating

from August 1973, which was allegedly

directed against superior officers who

were plotting the September 1973 coup.

Two of the 40 are civilians, the rest naval

cadets.

NEW TORTUREALLEGATIONS FROMTUNISIASince 1968 Al has received considerable

evidence that torture is used systematically

in Tunisia against opponents of President

HABIB BOURGUIBA to obtain

confessions of anti-regime activities. AI

has recently received new allegations

related to a period of reportedly intense

torture in February April 1975, when at

least 52 political detainees were allegedly

tortured.

The state political police (SSD) are

accused of torturing at their headquarters

45 men now held at the civil prison in

Tunis and seven women now imprisoned

at Manouba. The methods of torture

allegedly included beatings with

pipes, rods and bottles, cigarette burns,

hair pulling, submersion in barrels of

water, and crushing under sheets of metal

on which the torturers put their full weight.

At the beginning of interrogation all

detainees were suspended nude and

swung upside down from a metal rod

under the knees (the familiar "parrot's

perch"), thus exposing all parts of the

body.The report also alleges extended

brutality over several weeks in some cases

and the denial of adequate medical care

even to those prisoners who have

suffered broken bones, organ malfunctions

and nervous disorders.Some of the victims of torture

described their ordeals during their

September trial. Of the accused (which

included a large number of people tried

in absentia), 67 received prison terms

from 6 months to 9 years, 12 were

given suspended sentences and 10 were

acquitted.

ICJ ACCUSES RHODESIANSECURITY FORCES OFBRUTALITYNIALL MACDERMOT, Secretary General

of the International Commission of Jurists,

accused the Rhodesian security police on

23 October of brutality against African

guerrilla suspects during interrogation.

"I have received much evidence while

in Rhodesia of violent brutality, not

only by terrorists against the security

forces and against civilians they

suspect, but also by security police

against Africans they suspect," Mr

MacDermot told a news conference

in Salisbury at the end of a one-week

visit to Rhodesia. "The experience of

the IC.I in many parts of the world

shows that in emergency situations

tbe security forces, and in particular

their interrogators, will resort to

torture and other ill-treatment to obtain

information and confessions from

suspects unless they are restrained

from doing so."

Mr MacDermot, who had met lawyers.

church leaders, government ministers and

black nationalists, called for a decision at

the highest governmental level to eradicate

police brutality.

"I do not feel convinced that such a

decision has yet been taken in Rhodesia.

There is a reluctance to recognize the

need for this for fear, as it is put, of

undermining the morale of the

security forces."

AppealsSPANISH PRISONERS'LIVES AND HEALTHENDANGEREDFears have arisen for the lives and health

of prison inmates in several parts of Spain

following reports in recent months of

increasingly severe treatment. Accounts

reaching Al tell of beatings and widespread

punitive use of isolation cells in Barcelona,

Cadiz, Zamora and Madrid.

One report said that in mid-November

there were 105 men held in punishment

cells in Carabanchel Prison, Madrid. At

least 11 men, Five of whom are

dangerously ill, have sustained injuries

through numerous beatings, the report

said.In Zamora Prison, which has a special

section for clerical prisoners, one priest is

reported to be near death because of a

severe beating.Al is unaware at this time of the

motives for either the beatings or the

punishment of the prisoners. The motive

would appear, however, to be political, in

that these victims are political prisoners.

Furthermore, the chief agents of the

alleged beatings—the prison personnel—

are sometimes helped by gangs of men in

civilian clothes who are thought to be

extreme rightwing vigilantes.A case involving both civil and

political prisoners is reported from La

Modelo Prison, Barcelona, where RAFAEL

SANCHEZ MILLA, a mentally disturbed

civil law prisoner, was allegedly beaten to

death by guards on 19 October. Trying to

attract attention from others during his

beatings, he set alight some paper.

The incident was investigated by a

magistrate, but the result of the

investigation, as published in a local

newspaper, was that a mentally deranged

prisoner had set fire to his cell and had

burnt himself to death. Prisoners who saw

the corpse of Señor Sanchez, however,

have told their relatives as well as the

investigating magistrate that Seiior

Sanchez's head was battered.

In response to this apparent distortion

of justice, other prisoners (both civil and

political) began protests by refusing to

work in the prison workshops. Riot

police were summoned, and groups of

prisoners were forced to run the gauntlet

of policemen and prison guards. Since

then, the prison guards have practised

what the prisoners call "the police

station". The guards select a few prisoners,

take them from their cells, handcuff them

and beat them.In Cadiz, at Puerto de Santa Maria

Prison, at least seven political prisoners are

now held in special punishment cells under

conditions which may have long-term

effects on their mental and physical

condition. When seven of their fellow

inmates who had been detained in

similar isolation cells for a month were

allowed visits, relatives reported that the

prisoners were in a weak condition,

seemed almost blind and did not recognize

the relatives. Of the seven prisoners

remaining in these special cells, four

have been there since August, one since

July, one since April and one for an

unknown period. Al believes that all

seven are Basques.Most ot those who were put into the

punishment cells at Puerto de Santa Maria

Prison had been transferred in late August

from Segovia Prison, where they had

participated in a hunger strike against the

trial of two militant Basques, one of whom

was executed on 27 September. During

transportation from Segovia the hunger

strikers were savagely beaten and denied

water, arriving at Puerto de Santa Maria

in a state of dehydration. They were

immediately placed in the special cells,

where seven remain.

The medical condition of these seven

(and perhaps others) would appear to be

critical. One reliable Basque source has

written to Al, saying that those recently

released from punishment cells "look like

Second World War concentration camp

victims—heads shaven (presumably for

hygiene), unwashed, thin, apathetic and

with pitiful, hunger-drawn faces".

Please send courteously worded letters,asking protection for prisoners inCarabanchal, Puerto de Santa Maria,Zamora and La Modelo prisons, to:Director General de Instituciones

Penitenciarias, Sefior Gustavo Lescure

Martin, Ministerio de Justicia, San

Bernardo 57, Madrid.

Campaign for the Abolition of Torture

53 Theobald's Road, London WC1X 8SP England